Eye examination-the key to better eye health
Eye diseases can take a toll on your overall quality of life! Yes, without a doubt! To keep your eyes sharp at any age, regular eye screening should be an integral part of your regular annual body check-ups. Though many of us avoid doing an eye test, a brief eye examination can minimize vision-related problems and disorders. The anomalies are treatable if apparent eye glitches are detected early and taken care of with ample time in hand. Hence, the best bet to preserve your vision is the routine eye exam.
Technically high-end eye examinations
There are varieties of cutting-edge vision tests used by Ophthalmologists to check for any type of eye disease among the patients. To check for the innermost structures of the eyeball and the back part of the eye called “Fundus”, which consist of the retina, optic disc, retinal blood vessels, vitreous and Macula, a safe and non-invasive technique called “Ophthalmoscopy or Fundoscopy” is used by modern age ophthalmologists.
Now, let’s read the article to know more about ophthalmic fundus examination and how it is used to identify any eye abnormality.
What is Fundoscopy?
Fundoscopy, also called Ophthalmoscopy or Retinal examination, is done as a part of the routine eye test to examine the condition of eye due to the presence of some medical conditions like diabetes, hypertension and raised intracranial pressures. Before proceeding with Fundoscopy examination, the pupils are dilated with eye drops to view the structures behind the eyes. The Ophthalmoscopy examination is of 3 main types:
- Direct ophthalmoscopy
- Indirect ophthalmoscopy
- Slit-lamp ophthalmoscopy
Importance of Fundoscopic Examination
- The Fundoscopy examination helps to locate various risk factors and nerve defects associated with retinal vessels which can cause permanent vision loss, if left undiagnosed.
- It also helps to discover an infection, inflammation or other pathological processes in the eyes.
- You can get more insight into the severity of the disease and can plan for the treatment accordingly.
- Dilated Fundus examination can rule out the symptoms in patients with headache.
- The test can detect diseases or problems associated with brain tumours or brain injuries.
- Fundus test is also used to evaluate the success of a recent eye surgery.
This high-end eye examination can detect more eye disorders than what can be detected in a routine conventional eye check-up. A few eye disorders that can be detected at an early stage using this technique includes:
- Retinal detachment or tear
- Glaucoma
- Endocarditis
- Disseminated candidemia
- Macular degeneration
- Optic nerve damage
- Diabetic retinopathy
- Cytomegalovirus (CMV) retinitis and
- for melanoma, a skin cancer that can spread to the eyes
How to screen for eye diseases with Fundoscopy
Yes! The test can be done in your very routine without significant preparation for the test. The Ophthalmologist will dilate your retina with medicated eye drops. He will use the Ophthalmoscope device to view in-depth structure of your eyes to uncover any eye disorder or disease. The test can be performed through any of the below ways.
Direct Examination
You will be advised to sit in the room with the lights turned off. Your eye doctor will ask to stare directly ahead, keeping your head in a still position. He uses an Ophthalmoscope instrument to focus the light directly into your eyes. The tool has tiny lenses to see the structures inside your eyes. It helps to examine the effect of systemic diseases like diabetes and hypertension. The only drawback of this examination is the limited visualization seen from your fundus area.
Indirect Examination
In this examination, your eye doctor asks you to lie down or sit in an inclined position. The ophthalmoscope is mounted on the viewer’s head. He focuses the light directly into the eyes. This test allows him to view the entire retina more deeply than in any other test. The vision from the back of your eye can be seen in-depth and enables collection of details of the retina and other structures in three dimensions. Hence, almost all the eye examinations are carried out using Indirect Ophthalmoscopy examination.
Slit-lamp Examination
This is similar to indirect examination, wherein, you will be asked to sit with an instrument in front of you, known as Slit-lamp. The doctor will focus a bright light beam into your eye and will observe the inside back portion of your eyes in different directions to check for abnormalities.
Time taken to carry out the Fundus test
It takes only 5 to 10 minutes to carry out the test. Patients may have minor discomfort during this eye examination.
Based on the eye examination report, your doctor may detect any undiagnosed eye disease you have or can suggest you to run some lab test for further diagnosis of any other specific health condition. If your eye doctor prescribes you any medication or eye drops to treat your disorder you can buy medicines online from a trusted online medicine store and get an amazing discount on every order. For complete ocular examination and to protect vision from any damage, schedule a fundoscopy exam and also create awareness among others!
Author Bio:
Lakshmi Krishnanunni: She holds M.Sc., M.Phil in Biochemistry and has strong proficiency in the areas of Immunology, Biomolecules, Cell biology, and Molecular biology to name a few. She has more than 10 years of Research experience in the field of medicinal plants research and Nanotechnology. Her expertise in research has greatly assisted in writing health and medicine research articles. As a writer, she aims to provide research-based information to the readers in more detail.
